France Tel has shortlist of bidders for Swiss unit

MariettaCauchi

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- France Telecom (FTE) has selected a shortlist of bidders to go through to the second round in the sale of its Swiss business Orange Switzerland, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.

Some four or five private equity firms and strategic players have been selected from 10 original bidders and will now carry out due diligence on the business. The exact timetable and precise details of the next stage in the process are still being finalized but final bids will likely be due in six or seven weeks' time.

The sale is being run by Lazard Ltd.
LAZ, -0.54%
and Perella Weinberg Partners.

France Telecom is hoping to get between EUR1.5 billion and EUR2 billion for the business.

Earlier Friday, France Telecom's Chief Executive Stephane Richard rejected suggestions that the euro-zone debt crisis would affect the price it could get for the business.

However tightening credit markets have already disrupted several auctions because buyout bidders in particular have been unable to get the debt they need to finance large leveraged buyouts.

France Telecom launched the sale process of Orange Switzerland as part of a strategic review of its business as the telecoms group is looking to lead its business back to sustained growth in a struggling industry.

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